By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Seaman's No. 4-ranked (Class 5A) girls basketball team might not have been quite as sharp at Topeka West Tuesday night as the Vikings had been in last Thursday's season-opener when they hung 82 points on Lansing while shooting 57 percent from the field.
Seaman junior Anna Becker, who scored a game-high 17 points, puts up a shot in the Vikings' 59-27 UKC win over Topeka West. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
But the Vikings were still very good, improving to 2-0 overall and in the United Kansas Conference with a 59-27 win over the Chargers.
"We played hard,'' Seaman coach Matt Tinsley said. "We played real hard, so I'm proud of the effort. Sometimes when you don't hit a shot you press a little bit and I told the girls, 'We've really got to get some step-in shots.'
"I thought we just settled too much and when the ball movement is better inside-out you can step into those shots and it's easier to shoot and hit and we did that as the game went on.''
Topeka West (0-2, 0-2) was still within four points after a bucket at the 2:37 mark of the opening quarter, but the Vikings ran off the final six points of the quarter to open up a 17-6 advantage and took a commanding 31-14 cushion to the locker room at halftime.
The Vikings' advantage grew to 47-20 after a 16-6 third quarter and Seaman forced a running clock at the 5:42 mark of the fourth quarter on an Anna Becker hoop and cruised the rest of the way.
Senior Taylin Stallbaumer drives for a basket in Seaman's 59-27 win over Topeka West Tuesday night., part of her 13-point night. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Seaman junior Ava Esser (40) scored 10 points and grabbed six rebounds in the Vikings' 59=27 UKC win over Topeka West. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Becker led Seaman with 17 points, including 10 in the first quarter, while senior Taylin Stallbaumer added 13 points and junior post Ava Esser 10 points and six rebounds.
"It was good to see Ava do that,'' Tinsley said. "We weren't getting very many post touches. We made that an emphasis in the second half.''
The Vikings shot 41.4 percent from the field.
Defensively, the Vikings didn't allow more than eight points in a quarter Tuesday while also forcing 17 turnovers.
Sophomore Imani McGlory led Topeka West with nine points while sophomore Teairra Gonzales added seven points.
Seaman will face a tough test on Friday, going on the road to face No. 3-ranked St. James Academy, which handed the Vikings a 65-42 loss in the first-round of the 2023 5A state tournament.
"They thumped us last year, they put it to us, and sometimes losing like that will open up your eyes to just what you need to do to get better,'' Tinsley said. "We were definitely not happy with how last season ended but the girls realize that there's bigger rewards ahead if they continue to stay with it.''
Topeka West will also be on the road Friday, playing a United Kansas Conference game at Shawnee Heights.
SEAMAN GIRLS 59, TOPEKA WEST 27
Seaman 17 14 16 12 -- 59
Topeka West 6 8 6 7 -- 27
Seaman (2-0, 2-0) -- J. Stallbaumer 0-7 2-4 3, T. Stallbaumer 6-15 1-1 13, Becker 8-16 1-2 17, Gragg 2-6 0-2 5, Esser 3-5 4-4 10, Miller 1-2 0-0 2, E. Stallbaumer 1-2 0-0 3, Wilhelm 2-4 0-0 4, Moulden 1-1 0-0 6, McLaughlin 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 24-58 9-13 59.
Topeka West (0-2, 0-2) -- I. McGlory 4-9 0-0 9, Hall 1-4 0-0 2, Gonzales 2-8 2-4 7, Clark 2-8 1-4 5, Bearman 0-1 2-6 2, K. Keeling 0-1 0-0 0, B. Keeling 0-0 0-2 0, A. McGlory 0-3 0-0 0, Scott 1-2 0-0 2. Totals 10-36 5-16 27.
3-point goals -- Seaman 2 (E. Stallbaumer, Gragg), Topeka West 2 (I. McGlory, Gonzales). Total fouls -- Seaman 19, Topeka West 13. Fouled out – none.
